Wednesday, September 14, 2011

"And the seasons, they go round and round." ~ Joni Mitchell

It was not long ago - toward the end of my teaching career, that I began to have students who were the children of students I had taught the generation before. That was a "Oh my gosh!" kind of realization. I have a very similar feeling now that many of my friends are becoming grandparents for the first time. When did this happen? Where was I when all of this "living" was going on? Some things kind of smack you between the eyes!

I had not resumed my youthful interest in knitting when my step-grandchildren were born. No new baby sweaters there I'm sorry to say. I actually had never knit a "baby" anything until recently - when the grandchildren of my friends began to arrive. I like it! Baby sweaters are fast (except for the one with the "Indiana" sleeve, which I will explain in a moment). There is instant gratification there, a beginning-to-end project that makes you happy, makes the grandparents happy, makes the parents happy, and makes a baby look - well - darling! That's a lot of bang for your buck.

So, to the "Indiana" sleeve - two years ago my husband and I embarked on a charter bus trip from Central New York to Chicago and back again for a wedding (from Friday to Sunday - as in - three days!). Wonderful wedding, wonderful travel companions, but - never again (frequent flyer miles should be used - not hoarded). I brought along a plethora of hand and mind occupying paraphernalia, including the baby sweater that I had started for the newly arrived son of a colleague. The pattern that I had chosen was the "February Baby Sweater" by Elizabeth Zimmerman, found in her "The Knitter's Almanac".

I was quite inexperienced with some of the stitches in this pattern, and was regularly frogging parts (that's "ripping out" in knitting lingo) and re-doing them. One sleeve in particular was knit while our bus rolled along through Indiana. That sleeve was different (and difficult) from beginning to end, no matter how many times I tried to correct it. Hence, it become known as the "Indiana" sleeve. Thankfully, the errors were not easy to detect.

Which is the "Indiana" sleeve?

I have recently completed a lovely little cardigan for the soon-to-be granddaughter of dear friends in New Orleans.

"Will it be cold enough in New Orleans in November to wear a sweater?", I asked. I was assured that yes, it will be.

This pattern is from This is Knit. While the shop is in England, there is the beauty of being able to purchase and download a pattern within seconds. The name of this pattern is Cute as One Button, and is a delightfully quick knit. The yarn that I chose for this particular sweater is Chris by Schaefer Yarn, located not far from me in Interlaken, NY.

On my needles now is the same pattern, but for a little boy who was born in Virginia this past May - I felt fairly confident that a sweater in Virginia in May was not a good combo. For the winter however - I think yes. My husband and I will be getting together with this little guy's grandparents in a few weeks and will pass this on to them then - I'd better get cracking!

This yarn is Cascade Yarns and is a 220 Superwash. No amount of editing could show you the accurate color of this yarn - a beautiful, deep aquamarine - the color number, if you care to look it up, is #859.

So for now, I will continue to intersperse my larger, more time-consuming projects with these little appetizers. They bring such joy to everyone, including the knitter!

A reminder that if you are receiving my posts via e-mail, you may still check in on the full page version, with its links to the book-list, other blogs that I like, etc. That site is: My Retiring Life

1 comment:

You should copyright the Indiana sleeve, Tracy. Your Cute As One Button is gorgeous - hoping to see it in person. It looks soooo soft!Something tells me there's going to be a wave of appetizer knitting happening in our group!

About Me

I am a retired junior high teacher who lives in Central New York. I have always enjoyed the arts, reading and making things with my own hands. Sadly, as a new interest in cooking has emerged, so has the need to eat less - is there no justice?!
I have a wonderful husband and son who are always supportive of my ventures. I also have a diverse group of friends who feed my need for laughter, creativity, and shoulders to lean on.
I am one lucky lady!